Masset council unhappy with Fields closing

The Mayor and Masset Council have decided to send a letter to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) stating the village’s dissatisfaction with the closure of Fields. Councillor Barry Pages went even further asking that the letter express concern regarding the lack of consultation HBC took before deciding to close the Masset location. Mr. Pages went on to request that another letter be written to Target detailing the opportunity for its store to open in Masset. When asked why Mr. Pages selected only the American owned Target retail giant be contacted and not a Canadian company he said “I guess we would be open to other ideas or companies that can provide that level of service. There is a business case for the Fields store here. It does well serving the 5,000 people on this island.” Councillor Jason Thompson said “there is no access to a Walmart here, which means there is no price competition.” He, along with the other council members, feel another business would do well by taking over the void Fields will leave. HBC will close its 167 Fields locations across Canada over the next six months. While Target is taking over Zellers leases across the country, with stores set to open in 2013, there is no indication Fields is part of that deal. The only link between Zellers and Fields is that HBC owned both banners before Zellers was sold to the big-box giant, Target.